1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally pertains to gaming and sporting apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus, equipment and methods for games, sports and similar activities involving the training and improving of a player's swing for swinging a striking member and striking an unconstrained playing object, such as a golf ball.
2. Objects and Advantages
There are a number of well-known sports which include an unconstrained playing object driven by the action of a player upon the object. Typically the playing object is a ball and the player acts upon the ball by striking the ball with a striking member such as a bat. In each case, the playing object must be located in a prescribed strike zone, from which it is driven in furtherance of obtaining the goal. Examples of such sports include baseball (hardball or softball), tennis, hockey, and golf. As is generally well known, the playing object and the striking member is different in each sport, and each has different operating, behavioral and response characteristics. Furthermore, each game has its own specific sets of generally well known and easily obtained rules and regulations which control the play of the game and the actions of the player or players.
In each case, the conformation of the playing object and the methods and rules of the game vary, but the playing object must be driven at the correct speed and in the correct direction to attain the goal and win the game. This can only be accomplished by the player's correctly striking the playing object in the strike zone, whether with bat, racquet or foot. Therefore, it is extremely important that the player seek to improve the skill of correctly and accurately striking the ball. In each respective sport, there is an ideal swing pattern which is preferred as bringing about the most accurate reaction in the playing object, and the player will seek to consistently replicate this pattern. However, this result cannot be casually obtained. The act of striking the swing must be regularly practiced, and the player who attains the status of professional athlete will seek to hone this skill as an integral and important part of a successful career. The player seeking to improve his or her swing will often review printed instructional materials, whether text or photographic, which reduce the ideal swing to a series of component portions or moves. After reviewing these materials, the player will then attempt to replicate these moves.
However, it is difficult for the player to ascertain whether in fact his swing has successfully duplicated the requisite moves. Of course, it is generally critical to actually duplicate the moves and not merely to make the attempt. Therefore, some form of feedback from the practice swings is necessary so as to bring the next successive practice swing into greater conformity with the desired swing.
The game of golf is played with a relatively small, resilient ball. A player employs as a striking member a club with a striking head portion and an upwardly extending handle portion to strike the golf ball and drive the ball toward its intended goal. Each player maintains a variety of clubs, each designed to give a specific performance for driving the ball toward a green or putting the ball to the cup. The ball is to be struck while lying on the ground or on a tee, in the location of its last fall.
Training feedback, in the prior art, has been accomplished in a number of ways. The player, in some cases may be able to perform the practice swings before a mirror and observe the actual swing. While this method offers instantaneous feedback, it has several substantial disadvantages. Firstly, the player cannot concentrate on the practice swing and concentrate on observing the mirrored swing simultaneously without a real reduction in performance. Secondly, the practice swing often takes place at a high rate of speed, exceeding the ability of the human eye to correctly discern the sequence and correctness of the moves of the swing. Thirdly, the mere presence of the mirror may actually constitute a physical hazard to the player if the mirror is not sufficiently protected from the playing object when propelled by the impact of the striking member. Finally, it is typical to attempt many practice swings during a practice session, which may necessitate the use of a relatively large number of playing objects and a fair amount of time to recover the projected playing objects.
Another method of training requires the player to employ the services of an instructor or personal trainer. This method is better than the former method, since the trainer can observe the swing objectively and the player can concentrate on the practice swing entirely. However, this method still involves the use of a relatively large number of playing objects and the recovery time necessary. Also, the trainer's ability to observe the swing remains limited to the ability of the human eye to interpret the moves. There is also commonly a substantial cost factor involved in the retaining of a personal trainer, and the additional concern regarding the knowledge and qualifications of the trainer to diagnose and teach the correct swing.
The player may also elect to photograph a video record of the practice swings. This allows the player, or an instructor, to review the practice swings with a view to correctness, although this review may be difficult to conduct contemporaneously. Also, the video record may be reviewed at a reduced speed and thereby more accurately analyzed. However, as with the personal trainer, the recording and analyzing process usually involves substantial set-up and operating expense, and may also require a special location providing controlled conditions.
Another method of training involves the use of specially designed mechanical apparatus which provides feedback to the player about the swing. Such apparatus is often expensive and distracting to the player during the practice session, occasionally even hindering the training process.
Furthermore, in all of the foregoing, it is typically necessary to conduct practice sessions at either an actual playing field or a field or facility especially designed for the practice of the selected sport, which often presents difficulties because of scheduling constraints for the player and others, because of travel, or because of weather.
None of the foregoing provide any substantial immediate tactile feedback useful and desirable for immediate correcting of the swing. It is also difficult to determine whether the player has correctly placed the striking member in relation to the playing object and thereby determine the accuracy of the player's swing. Finally, the momentum and response of the ball may vary under different playing conditions, and it is desirable to emulate these conditions and to train the player's physical responses to accommodate these differences with a minimum of discomfiture and thereby to maximize the player's accuracy and power in the strike.
One training method and apparatus which overcomes several of these difficulties in training the swing for the sport of golf is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,064, issued to the present inventor, which discloses a golf training club and a specially adapted target resting on a playing surface. While the 064 training club has helped countless golfers to develop a better golf swing by correcting certain defects in their swings, it would be desirable to have a training device that corrected these and other swing defects to further promote a good swing. Specifically, the 064 device allowed golfer to swing either too much from the outside or inside, thereby not helping them obtain the correct swing plane. The present device corrects this error by making it impossible to stick the target unless the training clubhead has been perfectly presented to the target member at the most important point in the swing, impact. It also helps engage the golfers sense of feel and gives the golfer distinct visual checkpoints with which to check their swings.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to conveniently provide a method of practicing the swing desired for a selected sport or game.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus suitable for providing feedback of the results of the practice swing.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will permit the player to safely and conveniently practice the desired swing.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will permit the player to obtain immediate desirable tactile feedback useful in improving each successive practice swing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will enable the player to improve his swing for a selected sport or game.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as may be employed either by the player or by the player and an instructor for the improvement of the player's swing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as may be inexpensively and simply employed by the player.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as may be employed without requirement of a special location or playing or practice field.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will successfully emulate in the practice swing the physical requirements of the actual swing.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will provide accurate tactile feedback to the player and to train the player to rapidly adapt to changing responses of the ball in play.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide such a method and apparatus as will enable a player to visually determine whether the player has correctly placed the striking member in relation to the playing object and thereby determine the accuracy of the player's swing.
These and other objectives of the present invention will become apparent in the specification and claims that follow.